SpaceX Conducts Static Fire Test For Starship's Booster 9 [Watch]

SpaceX made massive progress in its recent testing for Starship. The space company fired up the booster of the giant spacecraft, and it was a success.

SpaceX Static Fire Test For Starship's New Booster

On Sunday (August 6), the Starship first-stage prototype known as Booster 9 carried out a static fire test at SpaceX's Starbase facility in South Texas, momentarily sparking its 33 Raptor engines while secured to the orbital launch pad.

A webcast of today's test revealed that not all engines operated flawlessly; four shut down too soon. However, 29 out of 33 isn't terrible, as Booster 9 and the orbital launch mount completed the test. Therefore, SpaceX has several reasons to rejoice, per Space.com.

On Saturday, Space announced on Twitter that Booster 9 had just completed a flight-like chill and spin of the raptor engine pumps ahead of the static fire test. The company added o Sunday that the Starbase team was prepping for Booster 9's static fire, and the event would be streamed live before ignition.

Less than an hour later, SpaceX shared a Super Heavy Booster 9 static fire test clip. The clip received several responses from netizens. One said he was amazed at how fast SpaceX made the repair and pressed forward. Another said it was great that the company was honest about the four engines shutting down, adding that he was looking forward to another update.

A different user noticed the steam from the booster and said it was awesome. He was hoping that it was more water vapor.

What's Starship's Mission?

The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket, developed by SpaceX, are a fully reusable transportation system that can transport people and goods to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and other planets. Starship will be the most potent launch vehicle ever created, with the ability to take up to 250 metric tonnes and 150 metric tonnes of totally reusable payloads.

The Ship 24 upper-stage prototype was intended to be sent on that mission, which blasted off from Starbase on April 20. Splashdown was planned for the Pacific Ocean close to Hawaii. But that didn't happen; shortly after takeoff, Starship encountered several issues, and SpaceX sent a command to self-destruct, destroying the craft high above the Gulf of Mexico.

The orbital launch mount for Starbase and some nearby equipment sustained significant damage during the April 20 launch. SpaceX put a water-deluge device beneath the mountain to prevent that from happening again. It is a steel plate that shoots water out of it to reduce the intense energy produced by 33 Raptors on Super Heavy.

During today's test, vast amounts of water flew skyward toward the firing Raptors, suggesting that the new deluge system was functioning effectively.

Booster 9 and the upper-stage prototype Ship 25 will be used in the forthcoming flight test. Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, has stated that it will have the same objectives as the initial liftoff.

However, it's uncertain when that launch will occur because SpaceX must overcome other obstacles in addition to technological ones. For instance, a consortium of Native American and environmental organizations is suing the United States.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the Starship launches from Starbase with a license. The lawsuit claims that the EPA miscalculated the potential harm such liftoffs could have to the South Texas ecosystem and asks for a more thorough environmental evaluation before any other Starships depart from the location.

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